Isreal Easterday, a Kentucky man who stormed the U.S. Capitol with a Confederate battle flag, was sentenced on Monday to two years and six months in prison for pepper spraying two Capitol police officers.
Easterday, who was 19 years old at the time of the riot, used pepper spray to assault two Capitol police officers who were separately guarding the East Rotunda Doors.
Chief Judge James Boasberg cited Easterday’s youth as a reason for handing down a prison term that was over five times lower than the Justice Department’s initial sentencing recommendation.
The judge said Easterday, who was homeschooled by his mother while living on a family farm, “may not have fully appreciated what was going on there” at the Capitol on Jan. 6 or recognized that the Confederate flag is a “symbol of rebellion.”
Prosecutors initially recommended sentencing Easterday to 12 years and seven months in prison. During the hearing, a prosecutor advocated for a sentence of 11 years and three months to reflect the court’s lower calculation of sentencing guidelines.
A jury convicted Easterday last October of nine counts, including charges that he assaulted Capitol police officers Joshua Pollitt and Miguel Acevedo with pepper spray that he acquired from other rioters.
Pollitt lost consciousness and collapsed in the mob after Easterday sprayed his unprotected face.
A video shows Easterday smirking just before he sprayed Acevedo.
Pollitt pulled other rioters into the Capitol as he entered the building. He spent roughly 13 minutes inside the Capitol.
Easterday, now 23, was arrested in December 2022 in Miami, where his boat was docked for a missionary trip to provide free bibles to churches in the Bahamas.
More than 100 police officers were injured during the Jan. 6 attack. Over 1,350 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. More than 800 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-third receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
